PASAY CITY, Philippines — Senator Loren Legarda renewed calls on Tuesday, September 22, for stricter firearm storage regulations and heightened accountability for gun owners following a recent fatal shooting at Banga National High School in South Cotabato—the country’s third school shooting since June.
Legarda filed Senate Bill No. 2472 to amend Republic Act No. 10591, known as the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act. The proposed legislation seeks to establish clearer, rigorous standards governing the secure storage, handling, and control of weapons by licensed owners.
The push comes after three separate incidents involving minors accessing firearms: a June 22 shooting in Tacloban City involving a police officer’s service weapon; an August 18 incident in Zamboanga linked to a firearm issued to a Bureau of Customs employee; and the September 18 South Cotabato shooting, which involved an improperly secured, legally licensed gun owned by the student’s father.
Legarda emphasized that investigations must address the systemic breakdowns that allowed the weapons to be accessed in the first place.
“We cannot have every shooting where we investigate, mourn, and then wait until another school is hit. Tacloban, Zamboanga, and now South Cotabato. There is a clear warnign that there are weaknesses in our system that need to be fixed immediately,” Legarda said.
“It is not enough to just know who did the shooting. We need to know how the gun was obtained, how it was brought into the school, if there were warnings that were not heeded or acted upon, and if someone neglected their responsibility to safeguard the weapon entrusted to them,” she stressed.
Under Senate Bill No. 2472, firearm owners would be required to store weapons in a vault, locked container, or secure facility when not in their immediate physical control.
In households where minors reside or visit regularly, owners must exercise heightened diligence to keep keys, combinations, and biometric access controls strictly out of reach.
“It’s not enough to simply hide it in a drawer, cabinet or place where you think it will not be touched. The gun owner is responsible for ensuring that it cannot be reached or used by a child or anyone without permission,” the senator said.
“In the event of negligence, there should be clear accountability,” she stressed.
Additionally, the bill drastically reduces the mandatory reporting window for lost, stolen, or unauthorized firearm use from 30 days to within 24 hours of discovery, while explicitly prohibiting warrantless house-to-house inspections or searches without valid consent.
“A missing firearm cannot be treated like an ordinary lost item. Thirty (30) days gives too much time for a weapon to change hands or be used in a crime. Reporting must be prompt so authorities can respond immediately and prevent further harm,” Legarda said.
“A firearm carries power over life and death. That is why owning one must carry an equally serious duty of care,” she added.